Keep up to date with everything that is going on at Chadron Middle School. This Blog provides quick access to Chadron Middle School information and events including teacher blogs, grade level homework and district information.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Mrs. Kaus, Chadron Middle School's 7th-8th grade Social Studies teacher, received the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award at the State National History Day competition in Lincoln last Saturday and is a nominee for the national award. The Patricia Behring Teacher of the year Award is awarded to two teachers from each NHD affiliate and eligibility criteria includes: 1) the development and use of creative teaching methods that interest students in history and help them make exciting discoveries about the past; 2) exemplary commitment to helping students develop their interest in history and recognize their achievements.

Mrs. Kaus requires all of her 7th and 8th grade students to complete a National History Day project as part of the social studies curriculum and students have the option to develop a competition quality project. Over the past three years, Chadron Middle School has had 70 students compete at the regional level, 45 compete at state, and 23 students have competed at Nationals in Washington D.C. She has spend countless hours before school, after school, and on the weekends working with students on these projects to help them narrow their topic, edit their process papers, and follow the rules of the competition. She encourages students to share their work with the community and students have presented to their projects to the Chadron School Board, The Daughters of the American Revolution, and Chadron Rotary Club.

In addition to NHD projects and the other fun an innovative assignments that students complete in her class, Mrs. Kaus is the chief organizer of the annual CMS Veteran's Day Celebration, which has become an event that many community members attend and look forward to each year.

Friday, April 3, 2015

After many months of research, scheduling, and meetings Chadron Middle School is proud to announce the new block schedule that will go into effect at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. The schedule features four (4) 84-minute blocks, a 5-minute advisory time during 1st block, a 40-minute lunch, 40-minute music classes, and extended passing times between blocks. Students will have an 8-minute break in between 1st and 2nd block, during which a grab and go breakfast will be available that they can take to class. On 1:30 dismissal days, blocks will be 55-minutes long with a 40-minute lunch and 40-minute music classes. Below are the regular and 1:30 dismissal schedules.

The middle school will utilize rotating block or A/B block schedule to meet the needs of our students. In this type of schedule, students rotate certain classes on alternating days throughout the school year. The new schedule will ensure that every student gets 84-minutes of math and reading daily, which nearly doubles the amount of instruction time in these classes. In addition, every student, without exception, will get 40-minutes of music instruction daily and have an opportunity to take Art, Physical Education/Health (PEH), Family and Consumer Science/Health (FCS), and Computers. Art/Computers and FCSH/PEH will split an 84-minute block and will meet on alternating days for an entire semester. Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies will also meet every other day on the rotating block for the entire school year. Below are examples of what a student's schedule might look like.

The middle school would like to thank all of the parents, staff, and stakeholders that provided feedback during the creation of the block schedule. Continued feedback from all of our stakeholders is encouraged, especially as we implement the schedule next year and continue to find ways to meet the needs for all of the students Chadron Middle School.